Farm-fence



(No Model.)

E. L. DUNHAM.

" FARM FENCE.

Patented Deo. 5., 1882.

hVenZ-or:

@WZM,

parts B Bin a clamping position.

TINIT D STATES PATENT O FICE.

EDWIN L. DUNHAM, OF QUINCY, MICHIGAN.

FARM-FENCE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 268,466," dated December 5, 1882.

' Application filed September 9, 1882. (No model.) 7

h To all whom it may concern i Be it known that I, EDWIN L. DUNHAM, of Quincy, in the county of Branch and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and use fnl Improvements in Farm-Fences; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which forni part of this specification.

This invention relates to a clamp for holding the ends of fence-rails in place.

The objec'ts of my improvement are to hold the ends of the rails of a fence in place without nailing or bolting the rails, so that the fence can be readily put up and taken down; also, to provide an improved construction of parts in a device for clamping and holding in place the rails of a fence, as hereinafter fully described,and illustrated in the annexed drawings, in which--- Figure 1 is an end elevation, showing the Fig. 2 shows the parts B B opened. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of two sections of a fence having my improved clamps applied to the panels for holding them in position.

My fence-clamp is composed of two sections pivoted together and adapted to receive the gether.

ends of the fence-rails between them. Each section comprises a horizontal base or sill, A, a vertical post, B,'and an inclined brace, (3, running from the base up to the upper portion of the post. The posts are secured to the sills at points near the inner ends of the latter, and these said sills or base portions of the two sections are pivoted together by means of a bolt, D, passing through the end of one sill and through the post and remaining sill at the point where said sill and post are secured to- In this way the inner ends of the sills lap or pass each other, as indicated, and for the purpose hereinafter described. clined brace O is notched or halved at its lower end and fitted to a sill, the shoulder formed by said notch being received in a seat formed in the top of the sill. The upper end of the brace is similarly halved or notched, the shoulder formed by said notch being fitted in a notch formed in the post, near the upper end of the latter. The seats in the sills for the shoulders of the notched lower ends of the braces are indicated at C, while the notches Each in- 1 in the posts for the shoulders at the upper These braces are secured to the posts and sills by ends of the braces are indicated at O nails E, which prevent lateral displacement of the braces. The outer ends of the sills rest upon boards, blocks, or analogous supports, F, which serve to raise the sills above the ground, and thereby allow the inner ends of the sills to be lowered, which movement on the part of the rails, and. the greater the number of rails the more effective will be the clamping-power of the posts. The fence-sections can, however, be formed by securing the rails together by battens G, of which there will be one near each end of the section and two on opposite sides at its middle. In this case the ends of the rails interlock, as before, and theweight of the rails causes thcposts to bind firmly upon them. v

1t will be seen from the above description that I construct a hingedor flexible sill, to which the posts B are rigidly secured, and that by this construction I make the posts serve as clamps for binding the panels together.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The clamping-posts B B, secured to sills A A, which are pivoted together, in combination with the braces c 0, adapted to operate substantially in the manner and for the purposes described.

2. The combination, with the sills A, of the posts B, securedthereto, the pivotal connection between the sills, and the inclined braces, notched at their ends and fitted. to the posts and the sills in the manner specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN LORENZO DUNHAM.

Witnesses:

H. H. BAELOW, Gno. HARRINGTON.

ICC 

